Gheorgasbord, Or Is It?

Procrastina-a-ation is makin' me wait, and other musings while I should be actively seeking employment. When can we monetize this place, again?

I should turn this into a full-blown Wrenball piece, but the state of the men's hoops program finds me mostly just sighing in resignation. Chase Audige showed up on national television last night, helping Northwestern clinch the second seed in the Big 10 tournament by walloping Dave's Rutgers in Piscataway. Audige, who left W&M after making the CAA All-Rookie team in the wake of Tony Shaver's firing, averages 14.1 points per game for the Wildcats, and is second in the Big 10 (and 11th in the nation) in steals per game. He is at this point, the embodiment of the downfall of the W&M men's hoops program.

That program ended a dismal season yesterday in wholly uncompetitive fashion. The Tribe fell behind Hofstra 18-2, 36-6, and 51-14 (at halftime) before falling by a 94-46 final. W&M "set" records for the fewest points in the first half of a CAA Tournament game and the largest margin of defeat. The fat lady was singing from the opening tip - the W&M kids really did try hard (Ben Wight dove for a loose ball with his team down 51(!)), but they were so very overmatched.

I am not in most circumstances a burn it all down fire the coach kinda guy, especially as it relates to W&M hoops. It's a hard place to win, and our expectations should reflect that. But I think we've got enough evidence to suggest that Dane Fischer isn't the guy. He's a lovely human by all accounts. He's also 25-63 as a head coach the past three seasons after taking a Nate Knight-led team to a 21-11 record his first season in Williamsburg.

Ben Wight embodying Brian Mann's dilemma

In a departure for me, I do not envy W&M Athletic Director Brian Mann. The right call seems to be to reset the program and look for a new head coach. The first part of that process seems fairly straightforward. The second? Damn near daunting. W&M is an academically rigorous school in a conference where most opponents can be described in different terms. The top of the league looks to stay robust, especially in Charleston, where the Cougars are making noise about a Gonzaga-style investment in mid-major glory. The advent of the transfer portal means that a freshman who comes to W&M and turns out to be a real player will have his head turned, and means that every season's team will be an exercise in cultural acclimation and team-building, with no real expectation of continuity.

There's zero chance an established head coach would have an interest in the W&M job, despite the things we know are appealing about the neighborhood. Unless it's someone deeply tainted and looking for a career resurrection like Chris Beard or Dave Bliss. And there's even less chance W&M hires someone like that. So we're likely looking at another young, promising assistant with no experience who'll have to come in and replace three starters, rebuild a roster, and bang heads with Bill Coen, Pat Kelsey, Speedy Claxton, et al.

Man, does the Patriot League look more and more appealing.

Hey, would you look at that. It did turn into a Wrenball post! For the sake of truth in headlining, check out this Pitchfork feature on the top new tunes of the moment. I particularly dug these two: